There were only 120 regular soldiers in the Inspection Office, including two chief and deputy captains, six governors, and twelve generals. These were low-level military positions that the officials looked down upon, and those who appointed them were all crude and vulgar warriors.
However, in Tongbai Mountain, these are the great opportunities that thousands of young people from the lower classes are scrambling to get.
Martial arts are the mainstream in Tongbai Mountain, but it is very difficult for common people at the bottom to make a name for themselves.
Although these low-level military officials and even the most ordinary soldiers mainly came from clans and were inevitably controlled by the clans, it must be said that the hundreds of soldiers in the Inspection Office were elite soldiers selected from ten miles or even thousands of people in Tongbai Mountain.
Xu Wujiang, Xu Xin'an and Xu Sihu represent the rising stars of the Xu family; Tang Pan, Tang Xia and Tang Qing represent the rising stars of the Tang family; but Tang Tiande has been serving as deputy chief for many years and has become increasingly addicted to wine and sex, neglecting his skills in boxing, swordsmanship and archery.
Seeing Xu Huai beheading the three thieves of Laoyatan in the street, Tang Tiande, Jin Longquan and others were as steady as old dogs, but Tang Pan and other young and energetic generals and officers were still very stimulated.
Before this, each family had not withdrawn from the street market. They had direct or indirect connections with the Wuzu in the Inspection Office and were secretly controlled. Tang Pan and others were suppressed and could not get out.
Yesterday, Huaiyuan's connection with the outside world was actually cut off. Young military governors and generals like Tang Pan became even more impatient when they saw that Xu Huai could show off his power and seize the heads of bandits with a dozen ruffians.
Before joining the Inspection Office, Tang Pan worked as a security guard in Yuehonglou for two years. He watched Tian Yanyan transform from an inconspicuous maid to a bright and attractive woman, and was finally trained as Liu Qionger's successor.
Although he had never expected to change Tian Yanyan's fate, Xu Huai's rude treatment of Tian Yanyan yesterday really angered him. He hated himself even more for not being able to arrive in time to rescue Tian Yanyan yesterday.
After leaving the market, Xu Huai rode his horse slowly between the three teams, while Tang Pan took a bow, a spear, a round shield, and a shoulder knife, and rode his horse straight to the distance to hunt down the bandits.
Most of the bandits roaming on the slope between Yingzizui and the street market were the remaining fierce bandits from Xiema Mountain. They were mainly targeting Xu Huai, the foolish guy who startled everyone when he acted recklessly.
They still looked down on Tang Pan who was advancing alone on light cavalry.
Seeing him approaching, the bandits only sent out four riders to encircle him, trying to force Tang Pan back.
They didn't expect to gain anything when the two sides tried to make contact, nor did they think that Huaiyuan would have a few reckless people like Xu Huai.
However, they didn't expect that Tang Pan was so irritated by Xu Huai that he felt a lump in his chest and couldn't let it out. He was so angry that he wanted that idiot to look at him with new eyes, so he rode forward alone and refused to retreat easily.
Seeing the four riders approaching, Tang Pan circled on the rugged slope. When he saw that the four riders were getting some distance from the large group of bandit cavalry, he suddenly turned his horse around and attacked the four riders from the flank.
Tang Pan was eager to gain something and show off his reputation, so he whipped his horse and quickly flew in an arc on the open grassy slope to the left side of the four riders. He then put his spear under his armpit and counterattacked.
This would also ensure that when the battle started, he would only have to face the bandit on the far left, rather than being directly surrounded by the four cavalrymen.
Tang Pan's bravery also shocked the bandits. The bandit on the far left did not dare to block his spear. He clamped his legs around the horse's belly, drove the horse forward quickly, and dodged, but the person behind him on the right was exposed without any preparation.
Tang Pan thrust his spear forward with speed as fast as lightning, but was blocked by his sword, and the spear blade deflected only slightly and pierced through the thief's left shoulder.
The two thieves behind were extremely skilled riders, adjusting the direction of their horses very quickly on the rugged grass slope. When they saw their companion being pierced through the left shoulder, they roared and turned their horses' heads slightly, then rushed towards Tang Pan to kill him again.
When military generals charge into battle, the most basic principles and tactics are no different in essence. They all try to do everything possible to avoid being in a disadvantageous situation of having a small number against a larger force.
This means that two fists cannot match four palms.
No matter how strong Tang Pan was, he didn't dare to resist the quick attack of two long swords at the same time. He didn't have time to draw back his spear. He could only abandon the spear and draw the sword, pulling the reins, and pulling the horse to the left. He narrowly avoided the slashing sword and ensured that he was facing only one strong enemy at the time, while the other strong enemy was on the periphery.
Tang Pan also acted extremely quickly. When he passed by the enemy, he raised his knife and stabbed it into the waist and armpit of the bandit who was less than three feet away from him.
However, the bandit was wearing thick armor, and when the tip of the knife penetrated two or three inches, Tang Pan felt it was heavy and it was difficult for the tip of the knife to penetrate any further.
The thief was also very brave. He had just swung his long sword at an angle from top to bottom, but Tang Pan dodged it and the sword stopped before its force faded, slashing in the opposite direction.
Tang Pan was also shocked. He thought highly of himself and believed that no one in the military camp could be of his utmost importance except Xu Wujiang. However, he did not expect that any random thief was as skilled as him.
Tang Pan was forced to put away his sword and block. The two men were almost face to face, exchanging dozens of sword attacks at an unimaginable speed before they were able to distance themselves from each other because their horses were running in opposite directions.
At this time, the thief whose left shoulder was pierced by the spear had fallen off his horse. He pulled the spear out of his left shoulder with all his might and rolled out to escape, so as to avoid being trampled by the horse's hooves after being injured.
The remaining three thieves adjusted their positions at this time, blocking Tang Pan's escape route from three directions; the three thieves had hideous grins on their faces, as if Tang Pan had become their prey.
Tang Pan woke up at this time, and it was too late to regret his arrogance. He hesitated whether to use the good horse under him to break out of the encirclement, or abandon the horse and break out by taking advantage of the terrain and his flexible skills. Then he heard a "whoosh" sound of wind, and Tang Pan didn't notice what happened, but saw the thief who blocked suddenly froze.
The next moment Tang Pan saw clearly that a dark blue arrow had pierced through the thief's neck. The thief swayed slightly on the horse's back and fell to the side.
Tang Pan looked in shock at Xu Huai, who was two hundred and forty or fifty steps away. The thief who was about to attack Tang Pan from the left was also startled by Xu Huai's long-range shot.
Before the thief could react, a feather arrow flew towards his face. Tang Pan turned his eyes and saw the arrow piercing through the back of the thief's head. He watched him fall off his horse.
The last thief was the strongest, but he dared not stay within the range. He saw from afar that Xu Huai still had two arrows in his hand. He had no time to take off his shield to block, so he simply hid his body on the other side of the horse's back and rode away.
"Mr. Tang, cut off the two heads back so I don't have to make a trip!" Xu Huai waved two feather arrows, telling Tang Pan not to forget to cut off the two heads back.
With such a long shooting distance, both arrows hit the enemy's neck and face directly without deviating even a bit?
More importantly, with such a strong bow, how can this idiot shoot it continuously?
Tang Pan was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses. Seeing that the enemy was disturbed and no one dared to approach him, he dismounted and cut off the two heads. He also picked up a war horse, two sharp blades and his own spear, and then rode back.
"Mr. Wang said that we should take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and use this bow to kill the enemy leader, but he didn't want to waste an opportunity to save a fool like you." When Xu Huai saw Tang Pan coming back, he complained with disgust.
Tang Pan's face flushed with shame and he was so angry that his heart and lungs were trembling, but he had to admit that what Xu Huai said made sense.
Xu Huai was so strong that he could shoot the Guan Yue bow continuously, and he also had such amazing archery skills that if he could lure an unsuspecting bandit chief into the shooting range, it would not be difficult to kill him. However, in order to save the bandit chief, Xu Huai exposed his archery skills in advance.
"Pan brother, you are really something. You have no ability but you want to show off. Look, Master Xu scared away other thieves in order to save you! What are we going to use to exchange for the reward today?" Many ruffians were suppressed by Yin Peng and could not move around freely, but they also complained loudly at this time.
Tang Pan felt even more ashamed.
Zhong He was also looked down upon by Xu Huai, but he and Tang Pan shared the same fate. He came over to say something to Tang Pan, but Xu Huai glared at him and cursed, "You think I'm a fool. You left the team, but how smart are you in the army? Get back!"
Zhong He stared at Xu Huai unconvinced, and the other rascals started to make noises again: "What are you staring at, Zhong's pretty boy? You're just staring at me! If you have the guts, go and hunt down two thieves! If you don't have the guts, get out of here and don't ask your Grandpa Xu to punish you for deserting your post!"
"Stop talking nonsense! I'll give you this head in exchange for wine and meat!" Xu Huai kicked the head that Tang Pan had placed at his feet towards the ruffians. "What other bullshit do you have? Shoot it at Pan Chenghu. Raise your voice and tell Pan Chenghu to stop hiding in his pants!"
"Thank you, Master Xu!" Zhu Ruffian was not polite and immediately took a head. He asked someone to lift the head high with a spear and shouted towards Yingzizui, "Pan Chenghu, my Master Xu is calling you to fight. Don't be scared and shrink back into your crotch! Your crotch is smelly and stinky..."
These hooligans' use of fists and sticks are commonplace, but their shouting and cursing in the streets has the power to make young girls pregnant.
Pan Chenghu heard these people swearing obscenely on the road, and they were even more like thieves than them. He was so angry that he wanted to kill the world. He suppressed his anger and led his men back to Yingzizui. He dismounted and walked to Chen Zixiao, Zheng Hui and others, complaining, "Fuck thieves, Deng Gui is using this bastard to hook my fish! I am so angry!"
Chen Zixiao, Zheng Hui, Dong Qifeng and others were also secretly shocked by the scene they had just witnessed, and they all thought: Could it be that Guo Caoling was killed by this reckless man sent by the Yaksha fox?
Zheng Hui and Dong Qifeng certainly recognized the Guanyue bow that Guo Caoling once regarded as a treasure. It must be Deng Gui who gave the bow to this fool to use. It's really infuriating.
Any strong soldier in the army with an arm strength of nearly 300 kilograms can pull this Guan Yue bow, but what's the point of concentrating all his strength to pull the bowstring to its full length?
When shooting an arrow, drawing the string is the basis, but to ensure accuracy, both arms must be stable enough.
Such a strong bow is absolutely rare and can only be made by a master craftsman. However, Dong Qifeng and his colleagues have had the opportunity to come into contact with it and know that a person with superb archery skills must have a strength of five to six hundred kilograms to be able to shoot arrows steadily with such a strong bow.
To achieve continuous shooting using the large-frame bow method, the strength required is even more amazing.
Judging from the injuries found after Guo Caoling was assassinated, the assassin must have been a man with strong bones and great strength.
With such strength, looking at the troops in Hexi, there are probably only a dozen or twenty people.
It was hard for them to imagine that in such a small corner of Tongbai Mountain, there was another person with such powerful skills.
It is true that Lu Xiong was also very powerful when he was young, perhaps not inferior to the ruffian in front of him, but he is now in his fifties and his muscles and bones have long passed their peak.
Lu Xiong might have more experience in fighting, but when it comes to a head-on attack, Dong Qifeng is confident that he can defeat Lu Xiong. Obviously, he is still slightly inferior to this reckless fellow in front of him.